Wayne Brady has been a top dancer for the first two episodes of Dancing With The Stars season 31, and his Broadway experience may be why. The actor is partnered with Witney Carson for the season, and the two are already top contenders for the season 31 winning couple. During episode one, Wayne and Witney danced the cha-cha-cha to Wayne's favorite party song, "She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)" by Carl Carlton. The pair scored a 29 out of 40, making them the top couple of the night until Charli D'Amelio and Mark Ballas earned a 32, knocking Wayne and Witney to second place.
Before performing on DWTS, Wayne had success on his variety show, The Wayne Brady Show, and as the star of a few Broadway productions. In 2004, Wayne was cast as lawyer Billy Flynn in the Broadway revival of Chicago. Then, in 2015, he returned to Broadway, replacing Billy Porter as Lola in Kinky Boots. Two years later, he combined his musical talents with Lin-Manuel Miranda's and took on the lead role of Aaron Burr in the Chicago production of Hamilton. Wayne also starred in the Hollywood Bowl's 2010 production of Rent alongside The Masked Singer panelist Nicole Scherzinger, who correctly guessed Wayne's identity when he won season 2 of the singing competition show.
Wayne has taken his Broadway experience and applied it to his DWTS performances, proving how much he's learned during his time doing stage musicals. While strong vocals and acting skills will get you far on Broadway, people often forget that dancing is a big part of the production. In order to captivate an audience and keep up with the show, a Broadway actor needs to know how to dance. Especially in shows like Kinky Boots, where Wayne spent all week dancing dressed as a drag queen in high red boots.
Broadway Prepared Wayne Brady For DWTS Live Shows
Wayne told DWTS co-host Alfonso, Broadway is different from the show because, on Broadway, he had more time to rehearse, and on DWTS, he only gets to rehearse for a short period of time before being thrown on tv to perform the routine. However, having experience performing live shows in front of an audience is very beneficial for any DWTS contestant. Every Broadway performer messes up from time to time, but after enough shows, it becomes second nature. So, Wayne's experience with carrying a live show has certainly made his time on DWTS easier than it may be for some other contestants.
No matter how talented or experienced a DWTS contestant is, the show will always be a challenge. However, like season 31 contestants Charli and Shangela, Wayne has a leg up on his competition. Not only does he know what it's like to perform live, but from his time on Broadway, he's likely gathered some clever ways to disguise any mistakes he might make during the live show. He also knows how to bring magnetic energy to any live performance he's doing. Whether Wayne knows it or not, his time as a Broadway performer has made him one of the best contestants on DWTS season 31.
Dancing With The Stars airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on Disney+.